This invention relates to a receptacle for receiving liquid particularly paint, stain and the like, in a quantity and at a level suitable for loading an applicator such as a paint pad with an appropriate amount of liquid for transferring and spreading such liquid upon a surface to be coated thereby. Similar purposes have long been served by relatively shallow open trays having troughs for accomodating a substantial supply of liquid and having normally slanted adjoining roll-out and draining surfaces and wiping walls or rims. U.S. Pat. No. 3,590,416, issued July 6, 1971 to Henningen, discloses a more advanced paint receptacle for storing a substantial supply of paint in a cylindrical reservoir having an open top and threadably attachable to the bottom of a tray in which an inlet passage and an excess drainage passage are provided and in which the supply of paint on the tray may be replenished by successive tilting and levelling of the combined reservoir and tray. The tray disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,590,416, has certain disadvantages which are overcome by the present invention. In the prior art the time and effort of assembling and disassembling, the risk of spillage resulting from an imperfect seal between the reservoir and the tray, the relatively long time required by viscose paint to flow through the rather constricted passages between the tray and the reservoir, the risk of overloading the receptacle due to the user's inability to visually observe the liquid level in the reservoir during the process of filling the receptacle in its assembled condition, the difficulty of transferring paint remnants from the reservoir to the tray, the risk of clogging and the difficulty of unclogging the passageways, the risk of spillage due to the unstable position of the assembled unit when tilted to replenish the paint supply on the tray, and lack of convenient on-tray storage for manual painting tools such as brushes which in certain painting projects may be used as applicators in addition to paint pads.
The present invention provides a new and improved receptacle for liquid and particularly paint and the like, which overcomes these shortcomings and disadvantages by providing a receptacle in which both the reservoir and the tray are open toward the top for visual observance, for fast, convenient and direct input of liquid, and for removal of liquid from both the tray and the reservoir by a variety of applicator means. The receptacle of the invention is configurated to allow convenient storage of paint brushes alongside the tray and secure positioning of the receptacle with the tray in a generally horizontal position as well as secure positioning of the receptacle with the tray tilted for the purpose of replenishing the layer of paint thereon. The passageways between the reservoir and the tray are open toward the top so as to allow for rapid transfer of substantial quantities of liquid, to inhibit clogging and to facilitate visual observation of clogging and quick and convenient removal of clogging agents. In a first embodiment of the invention the receptacle is a unitary body so as to avoid spillage and other risks and difficulties associated with detachability of tray and reservoir and the seal between these two elements.
In a second embodiment of the invention the tray is removably attached to the reservoir and also incorporates the space below the tray as part of the reservoir. In this embodiment of the invention a perfect seal between the tray and the reservoir is not required to avoid spillage or other problems and difficulties associated with the prior art because the liquid retaining portion of the tray is positioned within the open reservoir. This embodiment also permits quick and convenient clean-up of the receptacle after use and provides most of the other advantages of the first embodiment of the invention.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.